


Bucky Butts In: the Cushion Fic

by FghtInUs



Series: just as it was [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Bickering, Big Brother Bucky Barnes, Christmas, Fluff, Gen, Hijinks & Shenanigans, I'd say fluff without plot but there's a little plot, Kid Fic, Name-Calling, Period Typical Parenting, Pre-Captain America: The First Avenger, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, a Christmas fic? in March? yeah that's just kinda how my year's going, if you're concerned abt either of those notes there's more info in the notes, less hijinks and more shenanigans, oh and poor grammar. some people find it grating and some don't but i was having fun with it lmao, plus a cameo from Winifred Barnes, references to canonical past parent death- it's steve's dad. yknow. that guy, references to physical violence and period typical child handling, y'know. as is typical for children
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 15:28:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30040797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FghtInUs/pseuds/FghtInUs
Summary: We can put the couch cushions on the floor like when we were kids.It's 1929, almost Christmas, and Steve's mom won't be around. Bucky is determined to fix this situation, even if Steve insists it isn't a situation at all.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers
Series: just as it was [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2209932
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	Bucky Butts In: the Cushion Fic

**Author's Note:**

> Love my beta @teenagemutantninjafangirl as always, and for the quick turn around- I got really excited about this idea and she's an enabler and I love her.  
> Also the title is 100% @nuhre's fault. Blame her because I do.  
> Regarding the tags- the period typical child handling is just a reference to Bucky remembering when an off-screen adult original character threatened to hit him for making too much noise one time. Also, there's an appearance of a Wooden Spoon, in case that's upsetting to anybody- Winnie bonks Bucky on the head with it and that's about as graphic as that gets.  
> Anyway, please enjoy whatever this is and if you wanna drop a kudos or a comment, I'd love to see 'em!

"My mom isn't gonna be home for Christmas."

Steve says it all not-upset-like, like it don't bother him or anything.

Bucky's eyebrows draw together. "Why? Where's she gonna be?"

"Says the hospital needs her. We need the money." It sounds like he's reading in front of the class or something, all stiff and careful.

Bucky looks down. "That ain't fair. You can't just be alone on Christmas. What about Mass? What about presents? Christmas dinner?"

Steve won't meet his eyes. He's pouting a little though. He shrugs when he says, "She says we'll do stuff before. Just gotta have Christmas early this year."

But he sounds all stubborn about it. Bucky knows how he gets sometimes when he doesn’t wanna let on that he’s sore about something.

And, well. It just ain't right. What does the stupid hospital need from Miss Sarah that another nurse can't do? The hospital's got a million nurses and Steve's only got the one ma.

"Where're you gonna be? She gonna leave you home alone?"

Steve shifts his grip on one of the crayons that they pretend Bucky didn't steal for him. His face is kind of scrunched and his eyes are down like he's trying to hide, at least a little.

"I'm gonna stay with Ms. Robinson from down the hall."

Bucky stumbles over his words, he’s so mad, when he bursts, "Wh- but- Ms. Robinson? She doesn't even _like_ kids!"

Bucky remembers the last time she threatened to tan his hide when he and Steve was playing a little loud. He tried to apologize but she told him not to talk back or she'd drag him home by the ear. He'd shut up real quick after that, but that don't mean he forgot about it.

Steve wipes his eyes with the back of his hand like he can pretend he isn't drying tears, but his eyes are red and Bucky can tell anyway.

Well. That's fine, Bucky's smart. He can fix this. His ma likes Steve just fine; at least, she likes him more than Becca's best friend, Jean. Bucky thinks that's fair.

Steve says please and thank you and he doesn't call Ma's cooking mush even when it is, and Steve ain't got a dad and Bucky's heard ma talking to his dad about that, how sometimes she wishes she could do more for Mrs. Rogers and her boy.

Well, now she can. So suck a lemon, _Jean_. Steve ain't never rubbed his muddy shoes on Ma's carpet and Bucky thinks for that alone Steve deserves better than to spend Christmas alone with stupid Ms. Robinson.

But then again, Bucky always thinks Steve deserves better. And maybe they aren't blood, but Bucky'd protect Steve just like he'd protect his sisters and that's gotta count for _something_.

He wants Steve to spend Christmas with him and his family, even if they're loud and his sisters throw fits and it's a little a lot sometimes.

But, anyway, Ma’s _gotta_ say yes. There ain’t no way she could say no, Bucky’s sure.

With his mind made up, Bucky grabs Steve's wrist and hauls him away from the cardboard box they use as a table, ignoring the "What are you _doing?_ " complaint trailing after him.

"Ma!" Bucky yells and when they both skid into the kitchen, he gets a wooden spoon pointed in his face.

"James Buchanan Barnes, you _know_ the rule about yelling in the house. God help you if you wake up your sister, little boy."

"Bucky," Steve whines, sad and squeaky as he tries to wrestle against Bucky's grip on his wrist. "Stop!"

But he gets drowned out by Bucky trying to _help_ , _Steve_.

“Can Steve stay with us for Christmas?” Steve’s smacking his arm and Bucky swats back at him.

“Let Steve go,” Ma says, bopping him on the head less gently than maybe she meant to, Bucky thinks. He lets go of Steve to rub at his sore spot.

Ma turns away from them and back to the dishes when she says, “I’m sure Steve wants to spend Christmas with his mom.”

“His ma’s gonna be stuck at the hospital!”

Maybe his voice goes a little above the acceptable inside-voice-range, but if it does, it’s only by a _little._ Ma glares at him in warning, pinching her fingers in his direction. He closes his mouth.

“I don’t know, James. Have you brought this idea up with Mrs. Rogers?”

“I’ll make sure she says yes, Ma. I promise! Please? And, and, we’ll help you cook and do the dishes and we won’t bother anybody! We’ll help the girls with the decorations, won’t we?” Bucky tugs on Steve’s sleeve, because _take a hint, dude,_ and Steve looks a little peevish but nods anyway.

Ma seems to consider for a second, one sudsey hand on her hip. She sighs.

“We’ll have to ask her. And I’ll have to talk to your father.”

Bucky might stomp his foot a little.

“But _Ma_ -”

“Say one more thing and the answer changes to no right now.”

Bucky nods and, yeah, maybe he’s a little sulky that it isn’t _exactly_ the answer he wanted, but he’s pretty sure it’ll work out in the end.

“Now get out of here,” Ma says, flicking water at the both of them. As they go, Bucky hears her say, “God give me strength.”

“See, now you ain’t gotta be alone on Christmas!” Bucky crows once they’re back in his room. He claps Steve on the shoulder- it kinda hurts Bucky’s hand with how boney Steve is, but Steve doesn’t seem bothered by it none. Steve shoves his hand off and stomps back to their box-table. He sits down on the ground like he’s punishing it.

Bucky doesn’t understand what that’s all about. “What? Are you mad at me?”

Steve gestures clumsily in the direction of the kitchen. “What’d you go and do that for?”

“What do you mean? You were gonna be alone! I was trying to help!”

“I didn’t _ask_ for your help.”

“Why’re you being like that? Did you wanna spend a whole day with Ms. Robinson or something?”

“Maybe! I bet she doesn’t do stupid stuff like you do!”

“Fine! You should go hang out with Ms. Robinson then, since you like her so much more than me.”

“Fine!” Steve snaps, knocking shoulders with him as he passes. After Steve’s gone, Bucky rubs his shoulder and wonders if it hurt Steve just as bad.

Bucky sees Steve at school the next day, but he’s still mad, and he still doesn’t exactly understand what it is he did wrong, and so he doesn’t try to talk to Steve. But then, by lunch he keeps thinking about things he wants to tell Steve, and by the end of lunch he’s gotta convince himself to keep being mad at Steve.

Bucky trades a penny he found on the ground for Richard Jones’ orange- it’s a little beat up, but Bucky figures it doesn’t much matter what it looks like on the outside as long as the inside’s fine. He thinks Steve’ll probably think the same, if he isn’t still too sore at Bucky.

Bucky waits for Steve outside the school. Steve doesn’t look up when he comes out, just starts on the way they normally take home, since they live so close together, only a few blocks apart. Bucky jogs to catch up and he _knows_ Steve knows he’s there but Steve is determined to look forward.

Fine. Bucky can deal with that. Keeping in step, Bucky starts to peel the orange, leaving the peel in pieces on the ground as they walk. Ma would have a fit if she knew about that, but Ma isn’t here and that’s not the important part.

Bucky takes a wedge and pops it in his mouth, offering a piece to Steve. Steve pretends he doesn’t see it.

Bucky huffs. New plan, then.

“C’mon, Steve. Take it. You like oranges. Please?”

Surprisingly, it doesn’t make Steve crack. Usually all it takes is a little arguing and a _please_ for Steve to do something, and the please is out of the way, so Bucky knows his next logical step.

“I’m sorry, okay? I know you think I’m all wet, but I’m still not sure what I did that’s got you so mad at me, but you ain’t _talking_ to me much, so can you really blame me?”

“Yeah, I can.” Steve turns to look at Bucky for the first time all day and it’s a glare scary enough to rival Ma’s. “You never know when to butt out.”

“You didn’t tell me to butt out.”

“You didn’t give me much of a chance.”

Okay. Bucky supposes that’s true enough, he _guesses_. If he _has_ to admit he’s wrong. “I just didn’t want you to be alone.”

Steve kicks a rock. “You felt _bad_ for me.”

“I just kinda jumped at the chance to have you around, actually,” Bucky corrects. _Yeah_ , sure, he _had_ felt a little bad for Steve, cuz he knows how much Steve loves his Ma and how much he loves their Christmases, considering how closely he holds every present Miss Sarah’s ever gotten him. But Steve doesn’t need to know that, cuz that’s not the important part.

Steve looks at Bucky skeptically.

“Eat this.” Bucky offers Steve the orange piece again and watches him take it. He’s still a little grumpy but thawing out and Bucky can work with that.

After two separate conversations “for adults” that both started and ended, for Bucky at least, with him getting kicked out of the house to go play while the grown ups talked, Ma and Miss Sarah agreed to let Steve stay over for Christmas.

Bucky very pointedly does _not_ tell Steve he told him so. But he does stick his tongue out at him, which gets him tripped but it’s worth it.

On Christmas Eve, Bucky’s family meets up with Steve and Miss Sarah for Midnight Mass. Ma scolds Bucky for whispering to Steve a few too many times, but by the end of the service she’s given up. He just can’t focus; it’s almost _Christmas_ and he gets to spend it with his best friend and they haven’t had a sleepover in _so long_. Bucky, personally, believes he deserves a pass.

After the service, as promised- although, there is a bit of ~~whining~~ _perfectly reasonable and mature debate_ on Bucky’s part (but Steve was totally whining except he wasn’t because he’s a _complete suck-up_ )- Bucky and Steve help out with putting his sisters to bed and don’t complain even a little about being told to go themselves.

Bucky takes the cushions from the couch while Steve carefully unfolds the quilt his mother gave them.

They’ve done this once or twice before, on normal, non-holidays when Bucky asks real nice if Steve can sleep over and Miss Sarah thinks Steve’s back can take it. Steve never complains, but his ma’s right- he’s got a bad back and gunky lungs and a bum heart and he can’t hear the greatest and he don’t like it much when you point any of those things out, but Bucky promised Miss Sarah he’d watch out for him and that’s exactly what he’s gonna do. Even if it kills him, which, given how much Steve likes to argue, might happen.

Point is, Bucky doesn’t fit so well on one cushion anymore and so when they lie down, he’s gotta stretch out a little onto Steve’s cushion. Steve doesn’t mind much, or at least that’s what he says, and Bucky wiggles his toes between Steve’s calves and Steve doesn’t complain except for a little squeak.

It takes them a bit to settle, what with blanket negotiations being a whole _situation_ , where Steve keeps _hogging them_ and Bucky tells him what his ma says to him when she’s mad, which is “You are _testing me_ , little boy,” and Steve pinches him for calling him _little_ and pulls on the blanket more, but eventually they sort it out.

But where Bucky’s settling himself down nice and polite and still-like, Steve can’t seem to sit still. He keeps jostling himself, threatening to dislodge Bucky’s one kinda cold foot from between his legs.

“Here. So you stop tossing and turning.” Bucky takes the pillow out from under his head and offers it to Steve who, predictably and annoyingly, refuses it.

“Not gonna let you sleep without a pillow.”

“I’m not gonna, dingbat,” Bucky says in his best “duh” tone, smacking the pillow down on Steve’s chest. “Take it.”

Steve starts to refuse again and Bucky yanks the pillow out from under Steve’s head.

“We’re gonna _share_. Take it.”

Steve grudgingly takes Bucky's pillow and stuffs it under his back. Bucky could’ve sworn he heard Steve whisper, “Jerk,” but he’s not gonna push back because Steve’s right, and also he doesn’t mean it in a mean way. Bucky knows that.

Bucky resituates Steve’s stolen pillow between them, his head on one side and, when Steve doesn’t immediately follow his example, he impatiently pats the other side. “Lay down.” Steve huffs but amazingly does as he’s told for once.

With the extra back support, Steve finally stops tossing and turning and Bucky says, “Merry Christmas, Stevie.”

“Merry Christmas, Buck.”

The lights on the tree cast the room in soft green and red light and it plays off Steve’s goldish hair.

Steve looks over at Bucky.

“What’re you staring for?”

Bucky thinks for a second. “Your legs are _freezing_.”

Steve kicks Bucky in the shin.


End file.
